Best apps for Fitbit Ionic

When the Fitbit Ionic first launched last September, the app selection was a bit barren. Big names like Starbucks, Pandora, and Strava were there, but there wasn't much of anything else. However, following a lot of developer support, that's started to change. The Ionic received its first major update in early December, and with this brought a host of new watch faces and apps to check out.

If you own a Fitbit Ionic, these are the apps that deserve a place on your wrist.

Barcodes

One of the apps that launched on the Ionic right out of the box was Starbucks. It still works perfectly fine by allowing you to have your Starbucks card live on your wrist, but that's about all it does. Barcodes is a similar app, but it takes things a step further.

In addition to being able to store your Starbucks card on Barcodes, you can also add your gym membership, student ID, rewards card for the grocery store, and more. Up to five cards can be stored, and you can assign each its own name and color to help distinguish what's what.

Philip Hue Lights

Although I control my Hue lights mainly my talking to the Google Assistant on my Pixel 2 or Google Home, there are times when I need to turn the lights on and off without waking up my fiance. Setting up the Hue app on the Ionic is simple as downloading it and pressing the button on your bridge, and once this is all done, it works rather nicely.

The app does take a second to load upon opening it, but it's still convenient for quickly turning lights on and off when your phone isn't nearby or you'd rather not use your voice. You can activate scenes, turn all of your lights on/off at once, and control individual bulbs.

Switchr

If you're a fan of IFTTT, Switchr is for you. Switchr ties into IFTTT Web Hooks and allows you to perform a variety of actions with just a simple button tap. IFTTT is compatible with a wide variety of services and connected gadgets, including the likes of iRobot, Jibo, LG appliances, Nest Cam, and more.

I personally use Switchr to connect to my Wemo devices, and this enables me to turn on the coffee pot first thing in the morning with just a couple taps on my watch.

Hydrate

As much as I love the built-in health features of the Ionic, one of the things that still baffles me is the fact that Fitbit doesn't have an official app for tracking your water intake. I imagine something like this will be added in the future, but until then, we have Hydrate.

Hydrate allows you to track how much water you drink throughout the day, and better yet, syncs this information with your Fitbit account. You'll set a default number of ounces to show up each time, but if you drink more or less than what you set this to, you can increase and decrease the amount using the Ionic's two buttons or touch screen.

Fitbit Coach

This last pick might seem like a copout considering it's installed on the Ionic out of the box, but I've absolutely loved using Fitbit Coach ever since I first started using the Ionic.

Fitbit Coach allows you to follow workout routines directly on your watch, and the three included with the Ionic are 7-Minute Workout, 10-Minute Abs, and Treasure Chest (a 15-minute chest-focused workout). You'll have to pay an annual subscription of $39.99 to access additional workouts, and in my opinion, it's more than worth it.

Your choices

Did I miss any apps that you've been loving on your Ionic? Let me know what your favorites are down in the comments below!